Dec. 21, 2004 -- Sulphur Springs Police Sgt. "Buddy" Cleve
Williams arrested two woman after finding three bricks of cocaine in
a gift-wrapped box in the trunk of their rental car early Tuesday morning.

The cocaine carries a wholesale value of about $18,000 a kilogram.
Government sources put the street price at about $100 a gram, meaning
the 3 kilograms had a potential value of almost $300,000.

Modesta Garza, 34, of Pflugerville and Patricia Garcia, 24, of Austin
were charged at 12:46 a.m. Tuesday with possession of more than 400 grams
of cocaine, an aggravated felony offense which carries a penalty of 10
to 99 years or life in prison and an optional fine of up to $100,000.

Williams stopped the eastbound Pontiac Grand Am driven by Garcia at
12:24 a.m. at the 113 mile marker on Interstate 30 east after observing
the car "veer to the side of the road and cross over the shoulder stripe" several
times. When she changed lanes while passing Cpl. Jason Ricketson, who
had stopped a vehicle ahead of them, Williams observed the woman again
cross the right shoulder stripe. He then initiated a traffic stop.

Williams said there were discrepancies about the rental of the car
and the destination of the occupants.

"I asked for consent to search, which was granted," Williams said.

Before initiating the search of the vehicle, the two women were asked
to remove a pit bull/Labrador mix dog from the back seat and wait outside
the vehicle holding the animal on a leash.

Meanwhile, Ricketson cleared his traffic stop and arrived to assist
Williams in searching the vehicle and watching the occupants. Inside
the trunk of the Pontiac, the officers found a duffel bag containing
clothing and a wrapped box which one of the women advised was a Christmas
gift -- a car cover -- for her sister, Williams said. The officers became
suspicious because it "just didn't feel right" weight-wise.

Williams' canine partner, Timmie, gave a positive alert on the box.
Officers cut open the box and found three bricks of cocaine tightly wrapped
in duct tape.

The cocaine was found to weigh about 6 1/2 pounds, which would carry
an overall estimated street value of $291,200 and a wholesale value of
$54,000, according to Williams.

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